GOP Rep. Will Hurd overcomes Gina Ortiz Jones to win re-election

U.S. Congressman Will Hurd greets supporters at his northside headquarters on August 4, 2018.

U.S. Congressman Will Hurd greets supporters at his northside headquarters on August 4, 2018.

Photo: Tom Reel, Staff / Staff Photographer

Photo: Tom Reel, Staff / Staff Photographer

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U.S. Congressman Will Hurd greets supporters at his northside headquarters on August 4, 2018.

U.S. Congressman Will Hurd greets supporters at his northside headquarters on August 4, 2018.

Photo: Tom Reel, Staff / Staff Photographer

GOP Rep. Will Hurd overcomes Gina Ortiz Jones to win re-election

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San Antonio Republican Rep. Will Hurd withstood a Democratic surge by defeating Gina Ortiz Jones, enabling him to capture a third term and carve a GOP imprint in one of the nation's premier swing districts.

Hurd, 41, a former CIA officer, rode his reputation as a moderate and his willingness to break with President Donald Trump to victory over Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer and first-time political candidate.

The Hurd-Jones race had the distinction of pitting two security experts in a district that is home to a National Security Agency hub, the Air Force Cyber Command and a fast-growing cybersecurity industry

Hurd's re-election victory was a big achievement in a big district, which stretches from San Antonio to the edge of El Paso, encompassing 58,000 square miles and 820 miles of border. Until Hurd won his first election in 2014, the majority Hispanic district had changed hands, and parties, in three consecutive elections.

The district's unusual history of flipping has made it a national battleground for partisan ambitions, drawing millions for attack ads from outside interests.

"We achieved the largest victory this district has seen in over two decades. We achieved this largest victory in a political environment that ended the careers of dozens of my colleagues," Hurd said to cheers at his victory party at the Omni San Antonio Hotel at the Colonnade.

"We achieved this largest victory because...our fellow citizens want people in Washington DC who are going to make the place work, not people who are going to burn it down," he said.

He said his victory showed that "you don't have to exploit anger and fear to win an election."

Hurd thanked Jones and her supporters for "getting into the arena and engaging in the competition of ideas."

Jones, 37, an Iraq War veteran, was seeking to become the first openly gay member of Congress from Texas and the first Filipina-American elected to Congress.

She was not the first choice of national Democrats, who worked to recruit more politically moderate candidates this election. But she proved formidable by easily defeating the party's preferred candidate and others competing in the Democratic primary.

At her headquarters, Jones said that it was "an amazing opportunity to give voice to the issues that matter to Texans all across Texas 23."

She added: "So while it didn't shake out the way we would want, we ran a campaign that we are proud of and that really reflected Texas values."

Mark Jones, a Rice University professor and political analyst, said he believed that Hurd could have been defeated given the tailwind from Beto O'Rourke's candidacy and the headwind faced by Republicans around the country.

"Yet, in the end, candidate quality mattered in TX-23, with the state's best congressional candidate, Will Hurd, outperforming his party, and Gina Ortiz Jones under-performing.In the end, Will Hurd was exactly the candidate with the right style, message and energy that Republicans needed to keep the district in GOP hands," he said.

Hurd is one of just two African Americans in the House GOP caucus and with Utah Rep. Mia Love trailing in her race, he could be alone in that status next year.

Hurd is known in Congress for his work on technology issues and pressing GOP colleagues to resolve the fate of so-called Dreamers, the young undocumented immigrants in limbo after Trump's cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

He stood out among House Republicans this campaign season for challenging Trump, particularly on security issues. After the president's uncritical remarks while standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin in July, Hurd accused Trump of "getting played by old KGB hands.

"I spent nine and a-half years as an intelligence officer in the CIA chasing Russian intelligence officers all over the world," he said afterward. "So of course, I'm going to speak out."

Hurd didn't attend when Trump held a rally in Houston last month, and Trump didn't mention Hurd's name along with other GOP candidates.

In the new Democratic-controlled Congress, the number of Republicans willing to speak out against the president will be diminished. At least two of Trump's GOP critics in the House, Carlos Curbelo of Florida and Mike Hoffman of Colorado, lost their re-election bids.

Outside groups marshaled for Hurd, particularly the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC bankrolled in large measure by $50 million from Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his family.

The PAC spent $1.7 million on Hurd's behalf, primarily on negative ads, skewering Jones for positions said to be out of step with Texas and frequently mentioning her association with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The PAC opened an office in San Antonio on Jan. 1, and reported 1.15 million contacts with voters, either by phone or in person.

At Hurd's victory party, Summer Knowlton, 19, who volunteered in the Congressional Leadership Fund's pro-Hurd effort, noted that many younger voters turned out on Hurd's behalf.

"It's even more important to me to stick to my beliefs," she said, noting her desire for immigration reform, lower taxes and keeping Texas red.

Hurd raised nearly $5 million, buoyed by support from major tech firms and by fellow Republicans in Congress who pressed to hold his seat both because of national implications and the desire to keep one of the party's more talented young members.

Jones and Democratic allies trained their fire on Hurd for the many votes by congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Hurd may have inoculated himself by casting his vote against repeal when the House succeeded in advancing repeal legislation – a bill that would stall later in the Senate.

As chairman of a House subcommittee on information technology, Hurd has been a leader on cybersecurity as well as artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. He loses that chairmanship and the ability to call hearings on topics of his choice. But Hurd said in an interview recently that he believes he can be successful given his ability to work with Democrats.

In a district where more than two-thirds of the population identifies as Hispanic, Hurd had the task of overcoming deep distrust of Trump. The polling company Latino Decisions concluded after tracking surveys across the country for nine weeks that Latinos were likely to vote 3-1 for Democrats.

In Congress, Hurd worked with Democrats and other Republican moderates to mobilize GOP colleagues on behalf of legislation that would protect young immigrants left in limbo when Trump rescinded the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. His efforts proved futile but might have shielded him from some of the Latino anger aimed at Trump and Republicans.